Shock-absorbing mechanism.



@Teilig PATENT @WEGE ERNEST El, SCHMIDT, F LAKEWOQD, OHIO, SSIGNOB4GLEVELAND. OHIO., A CORPORATION GF OHIO.

CASTINGS CQMNY, GF

T0 THE NATIONAL MALLEABILE snooir-ensonmnof Mncnaivrsivr.

Specilcaton of Letters Patent.

Patented ot. 16, Iflli'' Application filed 'ir'ach S, 1917. Serial No.153,270.

To all wiz/0m. it may concern:

Be it known that l, Enirnsr citizen of the United States, and a residentof Lakewood, Cuyahogacounty, Ohio, have invented new and userllmprovements in Shock-.lbsorbing Mechanisms, of which the following,-is a' specication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, -inwhich- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, partly in elevation, showingthe application of my invention to a railway car draft rigging of theincluded friction mernber type; Fig. 2 is a section on lines ll-llthereof, and Fig. 3, shows a detail of the rigging in compressedposition.

My invention relates to shock absorbing HJSCHM'LDT, a

' mechanisms ot the type shown in the cc-pending application of lChesterK. Brooks and Ernest H. Schmidt, Serial No. 93,596, filed April 26,1916, in which the rictional elements are comprised of a plurality offriction shoes arranged about a central 4friction member, and'consists-in shoes and pressuretransmitting inembers arranged so as tosist in the release or' the shoes trom their engagement with the centralmember at the end of the compressive movement of the gear. My inventionalso consists in the construction and cooperation oi the parts which lshall herona 'ter describe and claimb Referring to the have shown myinvention applied to a shock absorbing mechanism or" the includedfriction member type, Q. indicates the central friction element havingfriction shoes or members 3 arranged between the arms il.

thereof and held against the friction i'aces of such arms 'oy means otwedges 5 and a follower G, which encircle the iriction clement 2. Softmetal inserts or pads Y, Y, made o brass cir-similar metal, areprovided, which are secured in the wedges 5 and follower 6 and bear onthe friction shoes These pads "Y, 7 in preventing the wedges and shoes'from sticking together when the rigging is relieved from pressures ot'buliing and 'frait.' y

To assist in causing the shoes to properly release from theircompressive engagement with the central member 2, i have shown the rearfaces 8 oi" 'the shoes inclined rearwardly from the central member, andthe (fo-acting faces oli the pads 7 are inclined in a correspondingdirection.

drawings, inl which iy in the operation of the gear it will be seen thatwhen the pressure abates the follower 6 and rearmost wedge 5 tendtoforce the shoes away from the central member by reason of the rearwardinclination of the rear faces of the shoes. It will also be seen thatthe releasing pressure is applied to the shoes at the point A, and that,as this is at a distance outside of the point B, which is the center offrictional area of the shoes and likewise the center of resistance torelease, the releasing pressure exerted by the wedges has therefore atendency to tip the shoes or pry them away from the friction surfacesoi. the central member; that is, there is a tendency toA tip the heel 9of each shoe up and away from the central member during release-, which,of course, assist-s in ay more speedy and effective release than if thereleasing force were applied in a direction parallel with orapproximately in line with the friction faces orn the central member 2.

l have also observed that while the gear is under compression the pads7a, particularly on the follower 6, bear almost squarely upon the rearsurfaces 8 of the shoes ofthe rear set somewhat, as is Ashown in Fig. 3,but that when the compression abates a gap appears nt C between the rearfaces of the slices and the edge of the 'pad farthest from the centralmember, asis shown in Fig. l.. This tiltingr or rocking action of thefollower 5 upon the shoes is due to the fact that 'the pressure of thecompression sprill l0 is exerted upon the follower at D, an thislpressure is in turn carried to the shoes at nl, which-is considerablyoli'set from the point E. This off-centered application, as the pressureabates, causes the follower 6to spring slightly, so as to leave a smallgap at C, or, in other words, to concentrate the releasing,` pressure atthe point E, or at point oi contact between the follower 6 and rearmost'shoe 3 which is oli-centered from the point of resistance B. As theWedge 6 thus exerts upon the shoes 3 a maximum tipping or twistingpressure, this, in addition to the effect ot the rearward inclination ofthe rear faces of the shoes, results in al very positive release of theshoes.

The terms and expressions which have employed are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and I have'no intention, in the useof such terms and expressions, ot excluding any mechanical equivay inglents of the features shown and described,

or portions thereof, but recognize that va-V rious structuralmodifica-tions are possible within 'the scope of the invention claimed.

l. in frictional shock absorbing mechanism, a longitudinally-extendingfriction element, frictionshoes arranged about said friction element andin frictional engagement therewith, each friction shoe having twowedging faces, and Wedge members encircling the included frictionelement, each wedge having a wedging face engaging a weilging face of afriction shoe, the Wedgface of one wedge being adapted to force theshoes against the friction element during compression of the gear, andthe wedging face on another of the Wedges being adapted to tilt theshoes away from the compression member after the pressure abates.

2. In frictional shock absorbing mechanism, a longitudinally-extendingfriction element, friction shoesl arranged about said friction elementand in frictional engagement therewith, members encircling the includedfriction element and engaging fsaid shoes, and a compression springengaging In frictional shock absorbing mechamsm, a longitudinali-extending friction element, friction shoes arranged about the4frietional element and in frictional engagement therewith, two wedgemembers engaging each friction shoe, and a compression spring engaging awedge member, the Wedge members and friction shoes having coperatingengaging faces inclined from the friction element toward the spring,during compression the spring and-a wedge member holding the shoes inposition to be com pressed by another Wedge member against the frictionelement, and during release the springy tilting a wedge member and thewedge member tilting the shoes respectively by an off-centeredapplication of force, to effect a release of the shoes from theirfriction grip oh the friction element.

ERNEST H. SCHMEDT.

